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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054286">the dagger under your pillow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CC_Writes_Stuff/pseuds/CC_Writes_Stuff'>CC_Writes_Stuff</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Make It Hurt: Whumptober 2020 [27]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Assassination Attempt(s), Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Byleth living up to her moniker as the Ashen Demon, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Death, Decapitation, Derogatory Language, Discrimination, Don't touch Claude unless you want to die, Established My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan, F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Feral My Unit | Byleth, Fluff, Hurt Claude von Riegan, Killing, My Unit | Byleth Being My Unit | Byleth, Period-Typical Racism, Poison, Poisoning, Post-Canon, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Protective My Unit | Byleth, Xenophobia, at the end</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:28:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,967</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054286</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CC_Writes_Stuff/pseuds/CC_Writes_Stuff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Many people in Fodlan and Almyra have heard of the Ashen Demon, Fodlan's famous emotionless, killer mercenary.</p><p>Many people in Fodlan and Almyra have heard of the Ruler of Dawn and Archbishop to a now-unified Fodlan, married to King Khalid of Almyra.</p><p>Few people, however, realize, that Byleth is one and the same.</p><p>Or</p><p>A pair of assassins realize the hard way why Byleth Eisner has the moniker of the Ashen Demon.</p><p>-</p><p>Written as an Alternate Prompt for Whumptober Day 27: Found Family</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Make It Hurt: Whumptober 2020 [27]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915390</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>129</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the dagger under your pillow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>me: <em> *goes absolutely feral over the idea of Byleth protecting Claude to the point where she'll kill a man with no hesitation to keep hiim safe, as well as the amount of trust Claude has in Byleth* </em></p><p>My Brain: You can make something out of this!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To be honest, he expected more of a challenge from the guards that protected the king and the queen. But there he was, sneaking through the halls with his partner, looking for the king’s room, a dagger in his hand.</p><p>Hopefully, the poison would be doing its work soon. And if it hadn’t killed the king and queen, then they would make sure they were dead. The half-bloods could not afford to taint the bloodline any longer than they had. And their security was surprisingly weak. If he were any less cautious, he would’ve snorted at that. For a coward, he sure had confidence in his abilities.</p><p>Of course, he’s heard of the failed assassination attempts from when the coward king was a kid. But he would not fail, not like the rest of them.</p><p>They reached the doors to the king and queen’s room - no guards posted. His partner looked up at him and grinned, making a slit-throat motion with his hands.</p><p>They made quick work of the doors, breaking the locks and pushing the doors open.</p><p>The room was silent, except for the sound of ragged breathing, the candles snuffed out. He smiled. The king and queen were on their last legs. Maybe already succumbed to the illness.</p><p>Still, he wanted to make sure the job was done. By morning, news would spread across Fódlan and Almyra both that the king and queen were dead. Almyra would be saved from this cursed and cowardly half-Fódlani bloodline.</p><p>If either of them noticed the two new presences in the room, they were either too weak to say anything, or already dead. With silent steps, the two crept over to the bed, ready to strike.</p><p>Two figures huddled under the bed together, covered by the sheets. There was more coughing.</p><p>They moved at the same time, him going for the right while his partner attacked the left, intent on drawing blood and ending this reign of cowardice.</p><p>His knife found its target easily, puncturing through the bedsheets and into skin, smoother than ever before. He hit no bones, and wonder if he hit the neck - the royals were completely covered by their sheets, and he could not make out a figure or a face or a shape underneath the satin bedspread and in the dark.</p><p><em>Easy,</em> he thinks, twisting the knife to make sure he did enough damage, to make sure the royals were dead.</p><p>When he drew the knife, he saw blood, a red so dark it was almost the shade of the night sky. He grinned-</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>-only for it to slip when he looked up to see a woman standing behind his partner, a jagged sword being held to his neck.</p><p>How had they not heard her?</p><p><em>“Got you.”</em> The words were monotone, but cold, and dangerous, sending shivers down his spine.</p><p>He had heard her speak before, during her marriage to the Coward King ages ago. The Archbishop and leader of Fódlan, going by the name of Byleth Eisner. <em>‘King’</em> Khalid’s wife.</p><p>They were caught. It didn't take a genius to realize that.</p><p>“How?” His partner asked, voice steely despite their being found out, and he gestured to the bed, dropping his dagger. “We-we killed you.”</p><p>A simple tilt of the head. “You killed a pillow.” Her tone was unimpressed.</p><p>He cursed. It felt too easy. He should’ve known something was up.</p><p>“You have two choices now, you two. You come with me, peacefully, and put the knife away. Or-“ she tilted the sword, as if to make a point, or perhaps scare them, her voice dropping- “You die.”</p><p>They were two simple words, but it was enough to make fear crawl at the inside of his throat. This was no passing, idle threat. This was real.</p><p>His partner, though, didn’t seem to understand that.</p><p>“You may kill us, but your life and the life of the Coward will come to an end soon,” he snarled out at her. “Do you truly believe you’re safe? Do you truly believe you can protect the coward king? Even if you are not dead, your half-breed mutt is tasking his last breath.”</p><p>A dagger appeared, disappeared, and he saw a thin, dark red line appear on his partner’s neck. It started to leak.</p><p>“You underestimate Khalid’s resistance to poisons and arsenal of antidotes.”</p><p>“Do not speak his name,” his partner growled. “He is a coward, plain and simple, and has no place in our world, much less our government. I suppose a Fodlan whore like you, though, wouldn’t understand.”</p><p>“I am no whore. I am a professor, a mercenary, a general, a queen, but I am no whore,” the queen said, her voice steady, head tilted just slightly. “And Khalid is no half-breed or bastard child or coward. He’s a Reigan, the Master Tactician, my friend, and my husband. I will not let you sully his name.”</p><p>“His name has been sullied since his birth, tainting this bloodline,” his partner spat, venom in his voice. “And it shall end here, with your death and the death of the Coward King.”</p><p>Everything moved in slow motion. His partner broke out of the queen’s grasp. His backup dagger went into his hand, glinting silver in the moonlight. Moving forward, he spun, hand flying towards the queen-</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>-and the tip of a sword burst from his gut.</p><p>A gurgling cry of pain. His eyes widened, taking in the scene, the blood spattering on the sheets.</p><p>In one swift motion, the queen drew the sword from his partner. He collapsed, falling backwards and hitting the bed. His mouth agape, blood pouring from a long slash across his chest, fingers twitching.</p><p>The queen, lit by the moonlight from the window behind them, tilted her head. “Did you really think that would work?” She asked, sounding... amused. But her face was stony, eyes like that of a corpse, blood splattered on her cheek.</p><p>“Fuck... you...” his partner gasped, struggling to breathe. The eyes narrowed. “This... is not over... you will...” A wet, raspy cough. “You will die, and so will that... that Coward.”</p><p>He was surprised when his partner moved again, still charging towards the queen. He knew he should go help, but he didn’t think it would matter.</p><p>All he could do was watch as the queen’s eyes seemed to glow green, and in one swift motion, she cut off his head. Her sword was a blazing red, glowing. What kind of sword <em>glowed?!</em></p><p>He didn’t understand how. She may have been their queen, but she was from Fódlan, a coward by nature, and weak. How she had defeated his partner so easily, he didn’t understand.</p><p>The queen’s gaze was turned onto him. Cold. Monotone. Deadly.</p><p>“H-how?” He asked before he could think better of it, taking a step back, shivers going down his spine. He was scared. He hasn’t been this scared in a long time. “How are you so strong? You are- you’re just supposed to be a coward, weak, you- you bitch! The Coward’s whore!”</p><p>She tilted her head. “I am not a whore, or a bitch. Do you know who I am?” She asked.</p><p>“Wh...what?”</p><p><em>“Do you know who I am?”</em> She asked again. Spoke before he could. “My name is Byleth Eisner. Former professor to the Golden Deer House of Garreg Mach Monastery, and the Archbishop of Fódlan, and the Ruler of Dawn.”</p><p>The queen positioned her sword so it was resting diagonally across her, the oddly-shaped jagged edges resting against her throat. <em>Mocking</em>. She moved her hand along the length of it, casually wiping off the dark red on it and flicking it onto the bed, before brushing some of her hair behind her ears and wiping her mouth. Her lips gleamed ruby red with blood.</p><p>“But, long before that, I was known as something else, by many other names. Jeralt’s kid, the Little Killer, the dead-eyed apprentice he had found in the woods-“</p><p>She turned her sword so the tip of it was resting just below his chin, arm outstretched to cross the distance of the bed that separated them. He could feel heat radiating from the tip, almost burning a mark into his neck, and it still glowed blood red and fiery orange.</p><p>“Byleth Eisner. The Ashen Demon.”</p><p>The Ashen Demon. He had heard of that name before. A famous Fódlandi mercenary that even some Almyrans praised, for all the stories that came of the woman from the other side of the border. An emotionless killing machine, who left a trail of bodies in her wake, who single-handedly had taken down an entire battalion of pirates with the barest scrapes, who had scrapped with a Demonic Beast amidst a burning forest and gotten out with its head, who had disappeared sometime 1180 or 1181.</p><p>For a long time, he had never believed the rumors, thought them to be fake, a farce. No one, much less someone from Fódlan, could be that strong.</p><p>But now... he looks the Ashen Demon in the eyes, and sees nothing but an empty pool of black, sees murder and danger and blood, who sees nothing. Like the eyes of a corpse.</p><p>In the end, he’s not sure why he moved to attack, instead of surrendering. It only sealed his death.</p>
<hr/><p>Byleth watches the assassin fall with no mercy in her heart. She cannot muster up the will to feel something for their deaths, not when they threatened Khalid.</p><p>She looks around for any more assassins that might be hiding in the corners the way she did, but there’s no one.</p><p>Wiping the blood of assassins on her sword off on her nightgown, Byleth sheaths her sword and steps out into the hall. Moonlight streams through the large windows of the Almyran palace as she walks, the silver showing Byleth her route.</p><p>“Are they gone?” Nader asks once Byleth reaches the doors to one of the many guest bedrooms. She nods.</p><p>“Two of them, both taken care off - they fell for the trick. I tried to keep one alive, but he refused to cooperate. The room needs cleaning.”</p><p>Nader nods, beckoning to the soldier standing guard next to him. “We’ll take care of that. You go and check on the kiddo - he’s been calling for you.”</p><p>The two leave, and Byleth opens up the doors. Fading candlelight flickers against the walls, highlighting a shape bundled under the bed there. It shifts as Byleth closes the doors behind her for privacy.</p><p>“By?” Khalid’s voice cracks out, weak and raspy. She feels something in her stomach twist as she walks over to her husband’s bedside.</p><p>“I’m here, Khalid,” she said, sitting in the space between him and the edge of the bed. She wipes off her hands on the nightgown as well, before reaching out and resting a hand on Khalid’s head. His fever is still there, forehead still hot and wet, but it seems to have gotten better. Some of the color has returned to his face as well.</p><p>“Are… are ‘ey gone? ‘M I safe?” He asks, his hand groping around the bed for her. Byleth moves her other hand so it grabs his, fingers curling around his hand, and gives it a soft squeeze. Khalid squeezes it back.</p><p>“They’re gone, Khalid. You’re safe - I promised you that I’d keep you safe.” Byleth leans down, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead, his cheeks, his lips. She can feel the weak smile that pulls at his lips before he kisses back. “No matter what happens, I’ll keep you safe.”</p><p>“I know, my friend,” Khalid replies. “I love you.”</p><p>“I love you, too.”</p><p>The Demon keeps vigil over her Fawn as he sleeps, her ring glittering in the moonlight, her sword ready to cut down all who dare to harm him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="https://ccwritesstuff.tumblr.com/">I Have a Tumblr!</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
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